IT'S time to cook the Christmas books again - our round-up of delicious new publications designed to inspire your festive wish list.

First off the starting blocks this year is Simon Hopkinson's The Vegetarian Option, published by Quadrille price £20, with pictures by Jason Lowe.

Widely recognised as one of the UK's finest writers, it's no surprise that Hopkinson (of 'Roast Chicken and Other Stories' fame) has a legion of loyal fans.

His ingredient preambles are so packed full of knowledge, fitting his many years of experience in the industry, and are set down in such a way that they will have you salivating long before you reach for your cookpot and chopping board.

Simplicity, practicality and sensitivity are at the root of Hopkinson's cooking, so there is nothing daunting about the recipes he proffers.

That, coupled with his glorious marriages of ingredients (spinach and sorrel, chilli and avocado, pumpkin and squash) and his lovely little 'asides' which accompany many of the recipes ('these shards of deeply savoury onion-y-ness are wonderful tossed into all kinds of salads'), and Hopkinson must be assured another bestseller with this beautiful book.

The Thrifty Kitchen - Wartime Lessons for the Modern Cook, compiled by Rebecca Law, is published by the older people's charity Independent Age with a foreword by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall, price £9.99.

Published to co-incide with the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War, the book aims to show you that can successfully apply the principles of wartime cookery to create dishes for the modern palate.

Presumably that means you will end up with a healthier diet - not to mention save yourself some money!

The principles at the core of The Thrifty Kitchen are that we should shop sensibly and seasonally, experiment with cheaper cuts of meat, and don't be wasteful (see opposite) by making the most of leftovers.

For Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall's mother, and those of her ilk, "culinary skills were tested to the limit" as they rose to the challenge of creating something interesting from whatever was at hand.

Bearing in mind the ration book allowed a person just one fresh egg and three rashers of bacon a week, that didn't give people a lot of room for manouevre.

However, I do believe that some of the best meals I make are from leftovers and cheaper cuts of meat. So let your creative juices run wild every now and then ... or checkout The Thrifty Kitchen's suggestions for 'Roman pie' using leftover cooked chicken; Risi Bisi made with bacon offcuts; and Gassie's bitallion stew using macaroni and sausagemeat.

Funds raised from the sale of The Thrifty Kitchen will go to Independent Age, a charity working to keep older people independent and out of poverty.